310. Editorial Note
At McGeorge Bundy’s suggestion, Michael V. Forrestal brought President Kennedy “up to date on where we stand” on the proposed Presidential trip to the Far East in the fall of 1963. Forrestal noted:
- “The foreign policy reasons for making such a trip are, if anything, becoming stronger. In the past three months the Communist Bloc have stepped up their parade of high ranking visitors to the area, including the recent trips of the President of Communist China and Marshal Malinovsky to Indonesia.”
Forrestal reminded the President that President Sukarno, along with the Chiefs of State or Government of Japan and the Republic of China, had been told that a trip would probably occur in October. The countries to be visited would welcome a Presidential visit, but they had been cautioned that the trip depended upon international and domestic conditions. Forrestal added the following observation:
- “It may interest you to know that the race problem which you have been dealing with in the United States may have an unexpectedly favorable aspect abroad. The Indonesian Ambassador spent an hour the other day telling me how much he and his countrymen admired the way in which your Administration was taking this toughest of all human problems. He seemed sincere, and I suspect that we may have an interesting bit of psychology working for us. Foreigners, especially poor ones, tend [Page 675] to admire us more when we are in trouble at home and are coping with the trouble instead of pretending it doesn’t exist. An example was the attitude toward us in Latin America during the ‘30s. Furthermore, most of the countries of the Far East themselves have severe problems with minority races, and effective public action by you in dealing with interracial relations strikes a sympathetic chord. This emphasizes the importance of getting wide distribution of yesterday’s magnificent performance both in Alabama and Washington.” (Memorandum from Forrestal to the President, June 12; Kennedy Library, National Security Files, Trips and Conferences Series, Proposed Presidential Trip to the Far East, 3/63–6/63)
On June 19, Forrestal responded to a request from the President transmitted via Bundy for “an appraisal of the extent to which you [the President] are tied on to a trip to the Far East next October.” Forrestal stated that technically the President was not committed at all since in every case the Far East governments were told the President was “considering” a visit. Forrestal added:
- “In one country, however—Indonesia—your failure to make a visit would be disappointing, to put it mildly. If you did not go to Djakarta, and if simultaneously we were unforthcoming in providing assistance to the Indonesian stabilization and development program, Indonesia might well veer away from the hopeful attitude it showed in the oil negotiations and the tripartite Heads of State meeting in Tokyo.” (Memorandum from Forrestal to the President, June 19; ibid.)